Anti-creep railroad crossings



y 2, 1963 J. L. DEVANEY, JR 3,

ANTI-CREE? RAILROAD CROSSINGS Filed March 9. 1960 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR. JOHN L DEVANEY, JR.

ATTORNEY July 2, 1963 J. L. DEVANEY, JR 3,096,057

ANTI-CREEP RAILROAD CROSSINGS Filed March 9, 1960 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 T5 .2. 1. 2% 127 if.

23 Inn/@111 #miKdJi/M HTTOENE? July 2, 1963 J. L. DEVANEY, JR 3,096,057

4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Tlml. E.

9 TTO ENE Y The invention relates to railroad tracks and more particularly to crossing of two railroad tracks. This application is a continuation-in-part of application Serial No. 800,829, filed March 20, 1959.

A common type of railroad crossing comprises four cruciform manganese steel castings connected together by splice bars to form the intersecting tracks. These crossings are subject to the disadvantage of pulling apart at the joints under trafiic because only the friction of the bars, held against the castings by the bolts, holds the joints together. The steel then flows into the gap, cracks and chips off under trafiic. As the flowing progresses, both ends of the castings wear down, causing a bad condition which must be repaired by welding. Open joints also cause the splice bars to break. When a joint opens up, there is also an increase in the gauge of the other track. This not only causes poor track alignment, but permits the backs of the wheel flanges to strike the guard faces of the crossing, causing the wheels to wear and break; and even sometimes to spread on their axles.

An object of the present invention is to prevent the separation of these joints, in simple and expeditious manner, with minimum change in design, and in such a way as to not affect the strength of the joint.

According to one preferred form of the invention, the meeting arms of the cruciform castings are provided with upright anti-creep ribs. the fishing surfaces of the arms at points removed from the abutting ends of the arms. The ribs are stopped short of the fishing surfaces to provide clearance spaces. The splice bars are provided with upright anti-creep grooves near their ends, which engage the anti-creep ribs positively to prevent pulling apart of the joint and the formation of gaps. Because of the peculiar nature of manganese steel, this construction must be handled in a special way, as described more in detail hereinafter.

Other objects and features of the invention will be more apparent from the following description when considered with the following drawings, in which:-

FIG. 1 is a plan View of the new crossing showing a single set of intersecting tracks;

a G. 2 is a transverse section taken on the line 2.2

l6. 1 illustrating the new joint;

FIG. 3 is a perspective, partly diagrammatic, showing the shortened anti-creep ribs on abutting arms forming part of a single joint;

FIG. 4 is a perspective, partly diagrammatic, of one of the splice bars, illustrating the anti-creep grooves;

FIG. 5 is a plan section through the joint, taken on the line :'55 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 6 illustrates a modification in which the anti-creep ribs connect upper and lower fishing surfaces; FIG. 6 is a section corresponding to FIG. 2.

In the following description and in the claims various details will be identified by specific names for convenience, but they are intended to be as generic in their application as the art will permit. Like reference characters denote like parts in the several figures of the drawings.

in the accompanying drawings and description forming part of this specification certain specific disclosure of the invention is made for purposes of explanation, but it will be understood that the details may be modified in various These ribs are located between Cir Patented July 2, 1%63 respects without departure from the broad aspect of the invention.

Referring now to the drawings, and more Particularly to FIG. 1, the crossing comprises four manganese steel cruciform castings 10, 11, 12 and 13 whose arms 14- are connected by four joints comprising sets of steel splice bars 18, 19. The connecting stock rails are denoted in general by 15 and the wooden ties by 16. The conventional positioning brackets are denoted by 17. The crossing and connecting stock rails form two intersecting tracks identified by A and B.

The manganese cruciform castings are similar in construction so it is only necessary to describe one. Casting 10 comprises a central body with four arms, two of which, denoted by 14, are connected to splice bars 18, 19. Refern'ng now also to FIGS. 2 to 5, arm 14- comprises a base flange 21 and bridging web 22, connected by upright webs 23 and 24. The bridging web 22 provides a treadway 25, fiangeway 26, and a guard flange 27. Attention is called to the flanged wheel shown in FIG. 6 to better bring out the relation of the several parts.

The cruciform castings may be of any conventional construction so long as their arms are of such nature as to enable the invention to be applied thereto. However, it is preferred to use the construction covered by Houston and Habel Reissue Patent 22,663, reissued August 14, 1945. A feature of this patent is the emphasis on intersecting tunnels and the freedom from transverse webs.

Since the four anti-creep joints are similar in construction, it is only necessary to describe one in detail. The arms 14 forming part of the joint between manganese castings l0 and 12 include upright webs 23 and 24 having holes 28 cast in; the arms also have fishing surfaces 33 and 34- and abutting ends 32. Splice bars l3, 19 may be manganese steel castings or of rolled machine steel. If the splice bars are of cast manganese steel, the bolt holes 29 are cast in; bolt holes 29 are adapted to register with the bolt holes 28 in the upright webs 23 and 24. Clamping the adjacent arms of castings lil and 12 and splice bars 18, 19 together are sets of bolts 36, 37 and 33. The bolts have clearance with their respective holes. The splice bar 18 has head locks 39 for the heads of the bolts. Suitable nuts and lock washers, indicated in general by 49, are located on bolts 36, 37 and 38.

it will be understood that, when the nuts are tightened, the bolts draw the spice bars l8, 19 into tight engagement with the tapered fishing surfaces 33 and 34 to securely and rigidly fasten the two adjacent arms 14 of castings it) and 12 together. If splice bars 18, 19 are made of rolled machine steel, their bolt holes 29 may be drilled.

The upright webs 2-3 and 24 are provided with upright anti-creep ribs 35 stopping short of upper and lower fishing surfaces 33, 34 to provide clearance spaces between the ribs and the fishing surfaces. These ribs are located between the bolts 36 and 37 remote from the abutting end surfaces 32 for reasons given below. The ribs 35 are provided with transverse abutment surfaces 4-1; and clearance beveled and top surfaces 42, 43, as shown. The splice bars 13, 19 are provided with upright anti-creep grooves having complementary abutment surfaces 51 (corresponding to rib abutment surfaces 41) and clearance surfaces corresponding to rib surfaces ,2 and 43.

The cruciform castings 10, 11, 12 and 13 are made of manganese steel. Maganese steel has come into wide use in railroad crossings because of its ability to withstand the sharp blows of heavy traflic caused by the wheels crossing the flangeways of the intersecting tracks. A peculiar characteristic of manganese steel, whcih distinguishes it from ordinary cast steel and makes it particularly desirable for railroad crossings, is the slow development of cracks. This makes it possible to detect these cracks in their incipient stages by inspection of the crossing when used on the track, long before the time when the crossing will actually fail. This characteristic is sometimes referred to as low notch sensitivity. However, manganese steel is very diificult to machine; hence, the dimension surfaces of the castings are usually formed by grinding. Grinding must be done with judgment, to prevent formation of sharp edges which are liable to cause unduly high stress concentrations.

The manner of grinding those surfaces of the manganese steel castings pertaining to the invention will now be described. If the splice bars 18, 19 are made of cast man- 'ganese steel, the anti-creep grooves '59 are cast in, to as close tolerance as is possible with commercial casting practice. If necessary, the transverse abutment surfaces 51 are ground to obtain the proper distance between the two abutment dimension surfaces 51 of the same splice bar. If necessary, the other surfaces of the anti-creep grooves 50 are also ground to insure clearance with clearance surfaces 42, 43 on anti-creep ribs 35. If the splice bars 18, 19 are of rolled steel, the anti-creep grooves 50 are machined in. With either type of splice bar, the anticreep grooves are of uniform cross-section from top to bottom.

The manganese cruciform castings are generally so large that the anti-creep ribs 35 cannot be cast too accurately as to location and size; hence, the ribs are cast oversize so that they can be ground to fit into the anticreep grooves 50 in the splice bars. The transverse abutment dimension surfaces 41 are ground to obtain the proper distance from the end surfaces 32 of the casting arms 14. The clearance surfaces 42., 43 are ground to insure clearance with corresponding surfaces in the splice bar grooves. i

If necessary, upper and lower fishing surfaces 33, 34

on the arms of the cruciform crossings are also ground, as are upper and lower fishing surfaces on the splice bars if made of cast manganese steel. If the splice bars are of rolled steel, the upper and lower fishing surfaces are machined to dimension. It will be understood that it is most difficult to grind closely into a corner formed by two or more intersecting dimension surfaces, particularly with the large grind wheels used in commercial practice. Hence, it is desirable that manganese castings be cast with relief at such corners. It Will be noted that the shortened anti-creep ribs 35 automatically eliminate the corners between the dimension surfaces of the anti-creep ribs and the dimension fishing surfaces of the cruciform castings, thus permitting the grind wheel to grind the entire areas of these surfaces without interference.

It will thus be seen that abutting surfaces 32 prevent approaching movement of the cruciform castings due to traflic and expansion of the track in the field, and that abutting surfaces 41 on the anti-creep ribs 35 and abutting surfaces 51 on the anti-creep grooves '50 prevent separat ing movementof the cruciform castings due to trafi'ic and contraction of the track in the field. It will be noted, also, that clearance surfaces 42, 43 of the anti creep ribs 35 and corresponding surfaces on the anti-creep grooves do not engage. It will be also noted that anti-creep ribs 35 do not interfere with the normal wedging action of the fishing surfaces, and that bolts 36, 37, 38 are not subject to shear. It will also be noted that the arm dimension surfaces 41 and bar dimension surfaces 51 are substantially per- .pendicular to the axes of the arms 14 and that these surfaces have a substantial area of contact. Therefore, any limited movement of the dimension surfaces 51 of the splice bars on the dimension surfaces 41 of the arms, due to change in bolttightness, can take place without adversely affecting the ability of said dimension surfaces to keep the joint tight and to hold the gauge of the intersecting track.

Thus, a railroad crossing anti creep joint is provided, which is simple in construction and efiicient in operation.

4 The placement of the anti-creep ribs on the cruciform castings strengthens the casting, and the location of the anti-creep grooves at the ends of the splice bars does not weaken the bar, since greatest bending stress, due to passage of tralfic, is applied to the middle parts of the splice bars adjacent the abutting ends 32 of the arms. At the same time anti-creep ribs prevent the joint from pulling apart, with the formation of gaps. Thus, weakening of the joint due to wheel pounding and difliculties due to change of gauge in the other track, as discussed above, are avoided.

Referring now also to FIG. 6, this modification illustrates a construction which is very similar to the construction shown in FIGS. 1 to 5, except that here the anti-creep ribs 35' extend all the way and join fishing surfaces 33 and 34. Parts of this construction are otherwise identified by the same reference characters as corresponding parts in FIGS. 1 to 5. Hence, it is not thought necessary to describe this figure any further, except to say that the full length anti-creep ribs 35 add more strength to the cruciform castings, but they have the disadvantage of making it more diflicult to grind the' corners formed by their dimension surfaces and the upper and lower fishing surfaces of the cruciform castings.

While certain novel features of the invention have been disclosed herein and are pointed out in the annexed claims, it will be understood that in accordance with the doctrine of equivalents, various omissions, substitutions and changes may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of the invention.

What is claimed is:

1. In a positive gauge railroad crossing, said crossing comprising castings laid out to form intersecting tracks, joints connecting adjacent arms of adjacent castings, each joint comprising a set of connected arms having adjacent ends, aset of splice bars and a set of connecting bolts; each arm having a treadway, flangeway and guard flange; each arm having upper and lower fishing surfaces on opposite sides thereof, said splice bars having upper and lower fishing surfaces engaging their respective arm fishing surfaces, each arm and adjacent ends of the splice bars having aligned bolt holes in which said bolts are loosely disposed, each arm having an'abutment, at least one splice bar of each set constituting a tie bar having spaced abutments, said arm abutments having anti-creep dimension surfaces facing away from the arm ends, said spaced tie bar abutments having dimension surfaces engaging the arm dimension surfaces of a set of arms, said dimension surfaces being laid out in planes substantially perpendicular to the axes of said arms, the area of contact of said dimension surfaces being such as to permit movement of the bar dimension surfaces on said arm dimension surfaces with change in tightness of said bolts, without destroying the ability of said tie bars to maintain a substantially fixed distance between their respective arm dimension surfaces, whereby the joints of one track act as tying devices to maintain the gauge of the other track and thus prevent a set of car wheel flanges from simultaneously striking the guard flanges of said other track.

2. In the crossing of claim 1, said castings being of manganese steel, said arms having upright ribs cast on opposite sides and between the upper and lower fishing surfaces thereof, each bar of a set having upright grooves in which said ribs are disposed, the surfaces of said ribs and grooves remote from their arm ends constituting the dimension surfaces.

3. In the crossing of claim 2, said ribs extending short of said upper and lower fishing surfaces to provide clearauce spaces for grind wheels.

4. In the crossing of claim 1, each arm comprising a base flange, a bridging web and spaced upright webs connecting said base flange and bridging web, said base flange and webs extending axially of the arm.

5. In the crossing of claim 2, each set of bolts including two bolts disposed between the end of the arm through which they pass and the ribs on that arm.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 6 McNamara Nov. 6, 1928 Lasswell June 24, 1930 Strong et a1. June 4, 1935 FOREIGN PATENTS France Feb. 16, 1911 Germany Feb. 10, 1914 

1. IN A POSITIVE GAUGE RAILROAD CROSSING, SAID CROSSING COMPRISING CASTINGS LAID OUT TO FORM INTERSECTING TRACKS, JOINTS CONNECTING ADJACENT ARMS OF ADJACENT CASTINGS, EACH JOINT COMPRISING A SET OF CONNECTED ARMS HAVING ADJACENT ENDS, A SET OF SPLICE BARS AND A SET OF CONNECTING BOLTS; EACH ARM HAVING A TREADWAY, FLANGEWAY AND GUARD FLANGE; EACH ARM HAVING UPPER AND LOWER FISHING SURFACES ON OPPOSITE SIDES THEREOF, SAID SPLICE BARS HAVING UPPER AND LOWER FISHING SURFACES ENGAGING THEIR RESPECTIVE ARM FISHING SURFACES, EACH ARM AND ADJACENT ENDS OF THE SPLICE BARS HAVING ALIGNED BOLT HOLES IN WHICH SAID BOLTS ARE LOOSELY DISPOSED, EACH ARM HAVING AN ABUTMENT, AT LEAST ONE SPLICE BAR OF EACH SET CONSTITUTING A TIE BAR HAVING SPACED ABUTMENTS, SAID ARM ABUTMENTS HAVING ANTI-CREEP DIMENSION SURFACES FACING AWAY FROM THE ARM ENDS, SAID SPACED TIE BAR ABUTMENTS HAVING DIMENSION SURFACES ENGAGING THE ARM DIMENSION SURFACES OF A SET OF ARMS, SAID DIMENSION SURFACES BEING LAID OUT IN PLANES SUBSTANTIALLY PERPENDICULAR TO THE AXES OF SAID ARMS, THE AREA OF CONTACT OF SAID DIMENSION SURFACES BEING SUCH AS TO PERMIT MOVEMENT OF THE BAR DIMENSION SURFACES ON SAID ARM DIMENSION SURFACES WITH CHANGGE IN TIGHTNESS OF SAID BOLTS, WITHOUT DESTROYING THE ABILITY OF SAID TIE BARS TO MAINTAIN A SUBSTANTIALLY FIXED DISTANCE BETWEEN THEIR RESPECTIVE ARM DIMENSION SURFACES, WHEREBY THE JOINTS OF ONE TRACK ACT AS TYING DEVICES TO MAINTAIN THE GAUGE OF THE OTHER TRACK AND THUS PREVENT A SET OF CAR WHEEL FLANGES FROM SIMULTANEOUSLY STRIKING THE GUARD FLANGES OF SAID OTHER TRACK. 